


The Bits in Between

by Goldy



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Drabble Collection, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Missing Scenes, Some are drabbles, Some are mini fics, all Bughead, all standalones
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:07:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 3,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23821291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goldy/pseuds/Goldy
Summary: Collection of Betty/Jughead drabbles/ficlets from tumblr prompts. Mostly canon-adjacent.They have an important mission to complete, and he needs to focus, but even so, there is something irresistibly attractive about an irate Betty Cooper hissing in his ear.
Relationships: Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 13
Kudos: 64





	1. Clean Up

**Clean Up**

Betty turns the invitation over in her hands. “Huh.”

“What is it?”

“It’s an invitation to Donna and Brett’s _wedding_.”

Jughead takes the invitation like it might burn him. He gingerly holds it away from his face. “Do you think it’s poisoned?”

“Believe me, I already investigated that.” Betty scowls. “So… trap?”

“Betty, would my former classmates _really_ stage a wedding just to lure us away and then murder us in cold blood?”

They try to keep a straight face but then look at each other and burst into laughter. Jughead crumples the invitation and throws it in the trash.


	2. Teach you a Lesson

**Teach you a Lesson**

Jughead came home from his first “Guy’s Night” with breath that smelled like a distillery and a purple bruise under his eye.

“What happened?”

Jughead grinned and then leaned in, breathing deeply. “You always smell nice.”

Betty ignored the fluttering in her chest. “Jug.”

He waved his hands in the air. Almost fell over. Smiled sheepishly. “Reggie said rude things about you. I had to punch him.”

“And he punched back?”

Jughead nodded. “I will have to punch harder next time.”

“ _That’s_ what you learned?”

“…I learned alcohol is bad and you don’t need defending?”

“Better. I’ll get the ice.”


	3. Distraction + Dance with Me

**Distraction + Dance with Me (pre-series)**

“Dance with me?”

Ethel blinks down at him, eyes wide and hopeful.

Panic unfurls in Jughead’s stomach and a weight presses down on his chest. He was not supposed to be here. He does not do school dances. Or… people.

“ _Come on, Jug!”_ Archie had said. “ _It’s our first year of high school. We can’t miss homecoming!_ ”

But Archie disappeared to grab them a soda and that was 20 minutes ago and now here he is, alone, faced with _this_.

Then, a saviour: “Sorry,” says Betty Cooper, “he already promised me a dance.”

Jughead barely has time to register the disappointment in Ethel’s eyes before Betty drags him off to the dance floor.

He quickly realizes that this is a bad solution when Betty fastens his hands around her. This is _not_ good. This is _dangerous_ territory. Surely, she can hear the beating of his heart? And feel his sweaty and shaking palms around her waist?

“Archie asked me to keep an eye on you,” she says, “I figured a childhood friend would be less terrifying than a real human woman.”

He is close enough that he can smell her shampoo. He swallows heavily. “I’ll have to thank Archie later.”


	4. Slip Up

**Slip Up**

Jughead careened into their room. He threw the door shut and then pressed his back up against it like he was trying to keep out an angry mob.

Betty looked up from her book. “Oh my god, Jug. What happened?”

Jughead did not move from the door. His face was pale, his eyes wide.

“Our parents,” he whispered in a voice so low that Betty barely heard him.

She leaned towards him. “Our _rats_?”

He shuffled forward a few feet. “Our _parents,”_ he hissed. “Downstairs! On the couch. In bathrobes. I saw… things.”

“Yeah,” said Betty. She winced. “Welcome home.”


	5. Can't Handle It

**Can’t Handle It (missing scene from Jughead’s story in 4x19)**

Betty dragged Jughead into an empty classroom and slammed the door shut.

“They’re not handling it,” she hissed. “Cheryl is seconds away from going to the police.”

Jughead began to pace. “She is out of control. And Veronica will be reporting us right behind her.”

“We have to stay calm,” said Betty. “We can take care of Cheryl. Think of everything she has been through the last few years. Would anyone really be surprised if Thistle House caught fire? It wouldn’t be the first time she set fire to her home.”

"And Veronica?”

Betty hesitated. “She’s my best friend.”

Jughead stopped pacing. “She is one step away from selling us all out.” He met her gaze. “When we started down this path, I promised you that we would find a way out of this. And I will keep that promise.”

"Maybe Archie can talk to her.”

As the words left her mouth, she knew that she was grasping at straws.

Jughead’s face softened. He closed the distance between them and then placed his hands on her shoulders. “Hey,” he said. “We’ll speak to Archie. We’ll do what we can. But at the end of the day, if it comes down to us or them….”

“It’s you and me,” Betty whispered. She leaned closer to him.

“That’s right,” he said and kissed her.


	6. Highway

**Highway**

Betty became intimately familiar with the highway between Yale and Iowa University.

The drive took 18 hours. She knew every cheap motel, every diner along the way. 

The halfway point was Cleveland and she became familiar with that too.

They used Zoom but it was not the same. In dark moments, she wondered whether they should give up.

And then, Jughead drove it all in one shot and barely stopped for the restroom. 

“I just had to see you.” He was rumpled and smelled like a roadside greasy spoon. It was one of the most romantic moments of her life.


	7. Not what it looks like

**Not what it looks like / Post 3x22**

Betty Cooper feels like a void has opened inside of her and all she can do is fall.

She feels separated from her body. She explains – _she killed him, Penelope killed him, there was nothing I could do_. But it feels like someone else’s voice, someone else’s hands as she gestures along with her words.

She listens as Kevin explains – _they are gone, they ascended, they left me_ – but she is has become participant in her own body and she is watching someone else’s life.

Jughead has not left her side. His hand goes from her shoulder, to her elbow, to her back and she catches him glancing at her like he _knows_. It makes her feel raw and exposed – how does another person know her that well? How can he tell just by _looking_ at her that the words she is saying and the smile she is plastering on are not real?

At the Sheriff’s office, when FP comes to talk to her, she tries to muster up the smile again, but she feels tired. She is not sure how many more times she can run through this whole horrible evening.

“Dad,” Jughead says softly, his tone pleading.

FP looks from Betty to Jughead and then back to Betty. He hesitates, and then says, “Betty, it can’t be what it looks like. People don’t… ascend. I promise you that we will find Alice and your sister.”

Betty nods and Jughead takes her into his arms. He holds her tightly and presses a kiss to the top of her head. That – _that_ feels real. So she leans into him more, presses her face under his neck and reminds herself to breathe.

FP hovers awkwardly next to them. He clears his throat and says, “I probably have everything I need for now. We can take your interview tomorrow. You kids go home and get some rest.”

The word _home_ rips through her and suddenly she does not feel so numb. Suddenly she feels like a teenager whose parents have both left her.

“Home,” Betty echoes. “I don’t even know where that is anymore.”

“With us,” Jughead says quickly. He looks over at FP. “Right, dad?”

“That’s right,” says FP. “Now, I know I haven’t always been the best parent to my kids, and I certainly cannot make up for your mom, Betty. But so long as you need it, you have a home.”

His words touch her. She feels tears burning in her eyes and a tightness in her throat. She looks up at Jughead who once again reads her _so well_ (she does not want to cry here, not in front of FP, not in the Sheriff’s office).

“Let’s go,” he says, voice thick.

He leads her away. She manages to hold back her sobs until they reach her bedroom and the door closes behind them. 


	8. Forbidden Touch + Feral

**Genre: Horror/Supernatural**

**Forbidden Touch**

The worm, or whatever it was, glowed lime green and curled around itself

“Ew,” said Betty.

The worm-thing twitched in their direction. Jughead gestured for Betty to get behind him and he crouched down in front of it.

It began to wail.

“Oh my god, don’t touch it.”

“What are the chances it has come in peace?”

“Low,” said Betty. “I think we leave now.”

Jughead grabbed his beanie off his head and threw it on top of the worm.

The wailing noise dropped to a hum.

“You can make me a new one later,” said Jughead. “Now we run.”

**Feral**

"Jughead and I found an alien worm near the bunker this morning.”

Silence greeted Betty’s words as their friends glanced up at them with blank faces.

“We don’t know for sure it was alien,” Jughead added. “It might have just been possessed.”

“Wow,” Reggie murmured, “this is a lot to take in.”

“Careful not to think about it all at once or you might sprain something,” Jughead said.

Kevin glanced at Betty and then back at Jughead. “Why were you at the bunker this morning?” he said slowly. “And where is Jughead’s beanie?”

Betty glared at him. “First, it’s crowded at home these days, okay? Secondly, Jughead used the beanie to slow down the worm.”

“Guys,” said Veronica with forced patience. “I have a calculus final in 30 minutes. And if I don’t pass that final, Barnard will be well within its rights to revoke my acceptance. Can you please put your crazy theories on hold until this afternoon?”

“Maybe Archie could challenge the worm to a boxing match,” Reggie offered.

“Yeah,” said Archie. He puffed out his chest. “Whatever you guys need.”

Betty hesitated. “I’m not sure that your boxing skills will be all that helpful against an alien worm, Arch.”

Jughead placed his hand on Betty’s shoulder. He leaned in to whisper in her ear. “We’re wasting time. You and I will just have to figure this one out on our own.”

Betty nodded. To her friends, she said, “We’ll see you guys later, okay? Jughead and I have to go save the world.”

“Have fun!” trilled Veronica.

“See you at Pop’s later!” said Archie.

Kevin watched them walk away and then turned to the others.

He shook his head. “They are so weird.”


	9. Undercover lover

**Genre: Buddy Cop/Spy Thriller; Prompt: Undercover lover**

“We need that list,” Betty whispers. Her lips hover near his ear and her breath puffs along the back of his neck.

They have an important mission to complete, and he needs to focus, but even so, there is something irresistibly attractive about an irate Betty Cooper hissing in his ear.

“What exactly do you want me to do?”

They reach the administrative office. Betty opens the door. “For some reason she likes you. So go charm her.”

Before he can explain to her how ridiculous that is, her hands are on his back and she is pushing him. He stumbles forward and comes to a stop in front of Ms. Bell’s desk.

She looks up at him. “Mr. Jones?”

He clears his throat, leans on the desk. He forces as wide a smile as he can manage. 

“I am hoping you can do me a…. favour.”

Ms. Bell hesitates. “What kind of favour?”

He leans in towards her, drops his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “I need a copy of this year’s attendance records for the student body.”

She laughs nervously. “Oh, I can’t do that. Those documents contain private information.” She looks around and then leans in closer to him with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Is it… for one of your investigations?”

He looks as solemn as he can manage. “Yes. It would be a big help, Ms. Bell. You might even crack this case wide open.”

She looks pleased by this. Aloud, she theatrically says, “I surely could not help you with that kind of request.” Then, leaning in closer to him, she playfully whispers, “Go check the printer.”

Jughead winks at her and she giggles.

He sidles over to the printer, looks around, and then casually grabs the stack of papers she printed for him.

He returns to Betty. She is waiting with her hands on her hips. He is feeling quite proud of himself, but the look on Betty’s face wipes the smile off his face.

She is glaring at Ms. Bell with an expression that suggests she is thinking about the various ways she can end Ms. Bell’s existence. He quickly slings an arm around her shoulders and drags her down the hall.

“She was flirting with you,” she spits. “How old is she? 60? That was completely inappropriate, Jug. You’re a high school student! We should ask Charles to run a background check on her. I’m not sure she should be working here.”

She sounds… jealous. Which is ridiculous. But he cannot quite stop the small shiver of delight that runs through him.

“She was just being friendly,” says Jughead. He tries to keep some of his delight out of his voice, but Betty shoots him a look that tells him she does not think he is taking this seriously enough. He changes the subject. “Here,” he says, handing her the attendance records. “We got what we needed, didn’t we?”

As he hopes, his girlfriend shifts immediately from “suspicious” to “thoughtful.” He finds that almost as attractive as her jealousy.

She stops and flips through the papers. He cannot help himself from watching her face as she eagerly scans through the attendance records of everyone they know. He fervently hopes that neither Reggie or Archie come down the hallway to find him gazing at Betty with what can only be described as a lovesick expression on his face. He would probably have to change schools again before he could live that down.

She glances up from the records and catches him staring at her. “ _What_?” she demands.

She is in such an adorable mood today.

He shrugs, and drops a kiss on the crown of her head. “Nothing,” he says. “Just you.” 


	10. Chapter 10

**Two truths and a lie**

“In college, see, ice breaker games are gonna be big the first week or so,” explains Charles. He sips beer from a red plastic cup. “There’s this one game, Two Truths and a Lie – ”

“We’re familiar,” says Jughead. 

“It’s a common game,” confirms Betty.

Charles stares at them like he briefly forgets the point he is trying to make, but then he continues. “You two, you two are going to _clean up_ at that game.”

“Right,” says Betty. “Serial killer father.”

“My classmates staged my murder to win a book contract,” Jughead says.

“Good one,” says Betty. “Which brings me to the time I was almost framed for my boyfriend’s murder.”

“I was made leader of a gang at age 16.”

“My sister joined an organ stealing cult and then almost blew me up.”

“No, no, _stop_ ,” says Charles. He looks hurt. “You share a _brother_. Who would ever believe _that_?”

Betty and Jughead look at each other. Jughead shrugs and then puts an arm around Betty’s waist.

“Somehow,” she says, “that’s just about the least weird things in our lives.”

Jughead presses a kiss to her temple. “More punch?”

“Love some.”

“It’s still a _little_ weird!” Charles calls to their departing backs.


	11. Chapter 11

**Lost in the Woods – Angst** – **Post 4x17**

“Jug!”

She tears after him as branches whip by her face. Twigs crunch under her feet. Her breath turns ragged.

He stops abruptly and then kicks at a nearby tree before he rears back and hops on one leg.

“Ouch. _Damnit_ ,” he says.

He looks over at her and his gaze is dark with an expression that she has never seen before.

“Jug,” she says. She presses a hand to the stitch in her side. “I never meant for you to find out like that.”

His expression does not change. He does not respond. Instead he folds his arms across his chest and then sits down on the ground, leaning back against the tree trunk he earlier kicked.

“We should talk,” she tries again but he does not look at her, still does not respond. She sighs and then takes a seat next to him. She is not sure if he is giving her the silent treatment to punish her or if he does not trust the words that will come out of his mouth if he tries to answer.

She allows him the silence he seems to want. Time passes. Jughead sits against the tree trunk, arms folded across his chest, not speaking. Betty sits next to him, shifting uncomfortably on the ground, twigs and sticks pressing into her backside. She almost regrets chasing after him, but now that she is here she is not sure that she can find her way home without him.

She decides to try again. “I know that ‘sorry’ doesn’t even begin to cover it.” And then, “I also know that I love you, Jug. More than anything. I promise you that I will fix this.”

He sighs, a noise that seems to shudder through his whole body. He bows his head and he still does not say anything. But then, he reaches out a hand towards her. She looks at his proffered hand and then at his profile. He is not looking at her and he still is not speaking.

She takes his hand and their fingers wrap together. An olive branch. She can wait until he is ready to talk.


	12. Chapter 12

**Heat Wave**

_She was 10-years-old. It was stifling hot. She was in the backyard with her father. He chased her as she ran bare foot across the lawn._

_“I’m gonna catch you, honey!” he called._

_She giggled even as sweat dripped off her brow. She wanted to spend every summer afternoon like this. With her dad._

Betty woke with a gasp, drenched in sweat, heart hammering. The dream clung to her like a second skin she could not shake.

Jughead rolled over, arm circling around her middle. He pressed up against her back.

“I’m here.” He was half asleep. “Everything is okay.”


End file.
